1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to communication devices, and in particular to use of wireless headsets with communication devices. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to ambient noise reduction during use of a wireless headset with a communication device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Users of mobile communication devices, such as cell phones, often utilize the communication devices while driving. Increasingly, laws are being imposed to ensure that the devices do not interfere with the safety of the user or others. As a primary example, city and state laws have been passed restricting the use of cell phones (when hand-held) while driving. However, many drivers get around such laws/restrictions by utilizing a secondary device that enables hands-free use of the cell phone.
One such device that is increasingly being utilized is the wireless headset, which enables hand-free access to the cell phone without the headset being tethered to the cell phone. Specifically, Bluetooth® wireless headsets, which operated according to Bluetooth® protocol, have become the primary device for wireless, hands-free, cell phone access. As known in the art, Bluetooth is a communication protocol by which a Bluetooth headset (or other Bluetooth enabled device) is able to connect to and complete near-field communication with a primary device. With cell phone users, Bluetooth headsets provide a convenient way to enable hands-free voice communication over the mobile phone.
Use of Bluetooth (and other) wireless headsets provide added convenience, while ensuring law compliance and greater safety, when driving. However, when a user of a cell phone is driving, there is typically a lot of ambient noise generated by the vehicle and the external environment in which the vehicle travels. For example, the acoustic path is heavily corrupted by car noise that may include vibrations, radio output, and engine fans, or environmental noises, such as outdoor wind, tire-on-road surface noise, and the like. The presence of these noises significantly interferes with detected speech and degrades the quality of speech that is received. An additional amount of ambient noise interference is detected when using a Bluetooth® headset in particular, because the Bluetooth headset does not have a close talking mode (i.e., there is a greater distance between the Bluetooth headset's receiver from the speech source than when talking directly into the built-in microphone of the communication device).